Welcome to the October 2026 Newsletter
From the President – Sheryl Madigan

It’s hard to believe that, since our last newsletter, the 2026 Christchurch Symposium has already come and gone! And what a great Symposium it was: beautiful weather, excellent tutors and lectures, a stunning exhibition, and an irresistible merchants’ mall. The whole event had such a warm, welcoming vibe, too. A huge thank you to Catherine and her team of volunteers for a job well done. It’s also reassuring to have the dates locked in for the next Symposium in Lower Hutt in 2028.

In one of the classes I attended, at least half the attendees were Australian, and they couldn’t speak highly enough of the NZ Symposiums. Apparently, there’s no equivalent in Australia. However, there were comments from all quarters about the increasing age of our volunteers. This makes me reflect on Symposium’s future and what we can all do to ensure this much-loved quitting event continues in the years to come.

The AQ Members’ Breakfast and AGM were well attended. We said farewell and many thanks to five committee members: Valda, Heather, Cindy, Jenny and Jill. I had the pleasure of thanking Valda for her commitment to Aotearoa Quilters over the last six years. As President, Valda convened or co-convened the last three GNZQS exhibitions, took an exhibition of NZ quilts to France in 2025, supported the development of regional groups across the country, and initiated the President’s Challenge. We wish her well and look forward to seeing all the quilts she now has so much extra time to create! A special thank you also to Heather, who has been Treasurer for four years and convened the Christchurch GNZQS in 2025.

We have had an amazing response to our call for new committee members and are delighted to welcome Gail, Monique, Sandie, Jessica and Kim, who will introduce themselves over the next few months. I have taken on the role of President for the next two years. The committee will meet for our annual face-to-face meeting in Hamilton in November.

Our focus now turns to the Great New Zealand Quilt Show 2027. We are excited to hold the show in Hamilton and exhibit our members’ work there. I did a quick calculation from the AQ members’ list and found that 37 of the 48 awards given at Symposium went to AQ members. Well done, Aotearoa Quilters!

Sheryl Madigan
President